I'm totally lost in this Business Game

Hi,

I just started a speciality gifts retail/wholesale business and I have been trying to get it off the ground and running and I am so totally lost. I know there are a lot of things that I need to be doing like getting my website set up, getting my message out to my target audience, etc, etc. I'm just so overwhelmed by all of the things that need to be done that I dont know where to start.

I want this business to be profitable but it just seems like im spinning my wheels and going nowhere. Do you guys have any advice on how I should go about getting this business off to a good start????

> I'm just so overwhelmed by all of the things
> that need to be done that I dont know where
> to start.

Hi Kayla,

Just to give you some idea that I understand what you're feeling -- I run a web development business from my home and am starting a second business. I won't do everything today, but I will do something.

Two businesses or not, I still take a couple of hours out of the middle of the day to take my 5 year old daughter to the park or bike riding. I don't work the evenings, unless there is absolutely nothing else to do, and Wednesday evenings and Fridays evening, my wife, daughter and I go roller-skating.

Saturday and Sunday I work half-days -- that's it. The rest is family time. My half day starts usually about 4 a.m.

I charge enough money so I can afford people that can work for me.

Two points I am suggesting to you here is that you need to charge a professional price for your services -- don't expect to do everything yourself. If your clients don't want to pay the extra money, then find some who will. Let those you hire do the work that pays you $50 an hour, and you concentrate on the stuff that makes you $150 per hour.

Don't hire dummies. I heard it said once that people with skills and knowledge always work for people with vision. Since then I always make sure I hire people who are smarter then I am.

The second point I am making is you need to schedule quality time away from the business. If you can force yourself to take a couple of breaks during the day, you will find yourself better focused when you return to your tasks. It will be easier to concentrate, and you will be able to get more work done in less time.

Then try an organize your days. Understand that you are not going to be able to solve ALL your business problems the next time you sit down at your desk. Pick one thing, give it priority and do it. Then move on to the next task. Too many uncompleted tasks leaves an overwhelming pile of work that seems to continually grow. By focusing on everything at the same time, you are not giving yourself the feeling of closure, or accomplishment of actually having something finished.

Best Regards,
Steve MacLellan


homebusiness-websites.com

Yeah, it's confusing. So what you do is start off slowly... very slowly. Don't grab for it all at once or it'll never be done.

I hope that you're selling OFFline. You didn't say, but if you're trying to do it all online, it'll be far longer before you see any profits. Start it offline and use the offline sales to fund the online part. It's much easier to reach people locally than it is on the Internet.

When you start the Internet side, focus on ONE line of products; either a specialty (like frogs or teddy bears or faries (to name three I've seen lately)) or a production house (like Royal Devon) or an artist/craftsperson (Norman Rockwell, for instance). Don't try to put it all up online at once.

Use the Internet like a business card. It is getting very expensive to list a business website in the search engines and without that listing, it's hard to drive traffic to your site. Use word of mouth, local flyers, local ads, etc, to get the traffic there. Paint your URL on the door of your shop or put it on your car (if you don't have a shop.)

So start offline... that's so easy and so cheap... and then move to the online. Things will work out much better this way!

> Hi,

> I just started a speciality gifts
> retail/wholesale business and I have been
> trying to get it off the ground and running
> and I am so totally lost. I know there are a
> lot of things that I need to be doing like
> getting my website set up, getting my
> message out to my target audience, etc, etc.
> I'm just so overwhelmed by all of the things
> that need to be done that I dont know where
> to start.

> I want this business to be profitable but it
> just seems like im spinning my wheels and
> going nowhere. Do you guys have any advice
> on how I should go about getting this
> business off to a good start????




The Five Minute Mentor

Hi Kayla,

Starting business can be a daunting task. But it should also be exciting and fun.

First things first. Do you have a business plan? While not trying to be negative - many young businesses fail because they don't have a plan. It doesn't have to be a 500+ page phone book like publication to be effective, but its preparation will take you through many of the things you need to think about and be aware of (such as marketing, financing, operating) before embarking on your adventure. There are many resources on the web that can help you in preparing one (here's one http://www.sba.gov/starting/indexbusplans.html).

Broadly speaking, the approach for any business start up would be to undertake the following:

1. Business Plan (research and analysis)
2. Set up (Complying with regulatory requirements eg. business registration, tax registration, business licences, insurance. Putting in place order fulfilment which will mean setting up physical premises or virtual premises online - setting up production and/or suppliers. Preparing sales/marketing resources. Employing staff.)
3. Start operating (Promotion and sales to secure orders, fulfil orders, collect payment)
4. Measure/monitor (this is critical, it will tell you what is working, what isn't and how to improve your business - of all the things to measure, most important are your marketing and sales activities, next cashflow - no business can survive without sufficient sales and cashflow)

If you've started your business, then you've likely gone through the initial set up phase. Next, as indicated above, you'll need to start getting the word out to your target market (which means preparing marketing materials if you haven't done so already - business cards, advertising, signs, directory listings etc and then getting them out where they can be seen).

That's it in a nutshell - a very small nutshell.

To check you haven't missed anything (as Stephen Covey said) begin with the end and work backwards. In this case, making the sale, collecting payment and delivering the product. Think of all the things you need to have and do before this can happen. List them out as a checklist and you will know what needs to be done.

Enjoy the journey.
Brian

> Hi,

> I just started a speciality gifts
> retail/wholesale business and I have been
> trying to get it off the ground and running
> and I am so totally lost. I know there are a
> lot of things that I need to be doing like
> getting my website set up, getting my
> message out to my target audience, etc, etc.
> I'm just so overwhelmed by all of the things
> that need to be done that I dont know where
> to start.

> I want this business to be profitable but it
> just seems like im spinning my wheels and
> going nowhere. Do you guys have any advice
> on how I should go about getting this
> business off to a good start????